Donald Trump: America's one-night stand

By Haroon Moghul

Updated 8:36 AM ET, Mon August 22, 2016

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

Donald Trump has gone from outsider to controversial front-runner in the race to become the Republican Party's 2016 presidential candidate. Trump began his bid with an announcement speech on June 16, calling for a massive wall on the U.S. border with Mexico -- for which he said he would make Mexico pay. At this stage he was tied for 10th place in the polls, at just 3%.

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

On week five of the campaign, Trump turned on Sen. John McCain at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa. McCain is regarded by many as a war hero after being captured and held in Vietnam for more than five years. After the comments, Republicans rushed to condemn Trump, with rival candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham calling him "a jackass."

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

During the Republican presidential debate on August 6, Megyn Kelly pressed Trump about misogynistic, sexist comments he made in the past, such as calling some women "fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals."

Trump slammed Kelly for this, calling her questions "ridiculous" and "off-base."After the first GOP presidential debate, Trump said: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes ... blood coming out of her... wherever." Many accused him of making a lewd comment about menstruation.

Trump told CNN's State of the Union that only a "deviant" or "sick" person would think otherwise. On ABC's This Week, Trump said: "I have nothing against Megyn Kelly, but she asked me a very, very nasty question."

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

In an effort to defend himself from critics of his remarks about the Fox anchor, Trump explained why it is hard for others to insult him -- his own good looks. Trump spoke about the backlash on NBC, saying: "There's nothing to apologize (for). I thought she asked a very, very unfair question."

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

Trump was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine on September 9, mocking Republican rival Carly Fiorina's appearance. On the same day, Trump told crowds: "We are led by very, very stupid people."

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

On October 5, Donald Trump said there would be a "collapse" and "depression" in television ratings if he ended his presidential campaign. Later Trump suggested he would skip a CNN debate unless the network gave him $5 million. CNN refused, and Trump later backtracked.

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

On November 22, Trump repeated his claim -- widely regarded as false -- that he saw television reports of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks. No footage to back up Trump's assertions has been found.

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

In the wake of December's San Bernardino, California, shootings, Trump called for a travel ban on all Muslims from entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." He did not give details on how Muslims would be identified, but the Republican candidate did not rule out special identification cards.

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

Donald Trump has developed an unlikely bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign. Trump had previously praised Putin as a leader he would "get along very well with." Then, on December 17, Putin further stoked the flame, describing Trump as "a bright and talented person." This led Trump in turn to make more positive comments about the Russian leader.

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

An unrelenting Trump took the run-up to Christmas as a chance to insult Democrat hopeful Hillary Clinton. He said Clinton's bathroom break in a TV debate was "disgusting" before saying she "got schlonged" by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race. "Schlong" is a Yiddish word for penis.

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Photos:Trump campaign: 11 outrageous quotes

On January 24, Donald Trump boasted at a campaign rally in Sioux Center, Iowa, that support for his presidential campaign would not decline even if he shot someone in the middle of a crowded street.

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All his apology accomplishes is to take away the one thing he had going for him -- his bluster, Moghul writes

Haroon Moghul is a senior fellow and director of development at the Center for Global Policy. His next book, "How to be a Muslim," will be out in 2017. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

(CNN)On Thursday night, Donald Trump did the unthinkable. Sometimes, he admitted, I say "the wrong thing." But Trump wants you to know he "regrets it ... particularly where it may have caused too much personal pain." At the end of the day, though, his apology doesn't matter. Not just because Donald Trump hasn't given us any reason to believe he means it, but because he's not the one who has to seek forgiveness.

We the people do.

Haroon Moghul

For an apology to be accepted, it's got to be clear what you're apologizing for. Trump never clarified. For an apology to be meaningful, we've got to know that the mistake you made doesn't disqualify you from the position you seek. But no adult should have to apologize for the kinds of things Donald Trump has said while seeking high office, because no adult should say those things.

From a strategist's perspective, though, Trump's apology isn't just unlikely to persuade. It's an admission of electoral impotence. Take away the political incorrectness, the long, rambling speeches that bring to mind manic episodes or, as The Intercept's Murtaza Hussain suggested, Moammar Gadhafi -- military intervention against whom, by the way, Trump also supported -- and what do you have left? The guy who thinks Obama isn't an American? Whose casinos bled cash? Whose personal fortune seems to fluctuate with his mood swings?

All his apology accomplishes is to take away the one thing he had going for him: his bluster, which was bound to start wearing thin eventually. The real question is not whether Donald Trump is sorry. It's why it's taken us so long to make him feel he has to apologize, genuinely or not. In Trump's case, the effective cause might be his sliding poll numbers -- all of them.

What happens at Trump Tower...

You're going out with friends. You've dressed yourself up. You'll find someone, no doubt about it. But you hope you might find that special someone. Someone you could take home to your parents. Someone you could spend at least four years with. But the funny, smart, sexy folks are already taken, or being taken.

Your confidence plummets even as your blood alcohol level soars.

When hope is all but lost, you see him. Sure, he's technically orange, but you won't know that 'til you see him in natural light. He's wearing a red power tie. Some of your friends suggest caution, but they're just jealous. And anyway, you're not going home alone come what may.

The rest of the night passes in a blur. You were wrapped around his finger. Obsessed with every word that came out of his mouth.

But Thursday night must become Friday morning. That merciless iPhone alarm goes off. Waking up feels like passing through an event horizon. You rub your eyes in pained disbelief. Everything hurts. But there's bills to pay. A career to build. A retirement to pay for. Which is when you hear him snoring beside you. You'd forgotten entirely, and then, when you look over, you gasp.

What the heck were you thinking? Take him home to your parents? You wouldn't introduce him to your neighbors, let alone allow him to appoint a Supreme Court justice. You can't even laugh about it, because then you'd have to admit to falling for his charms. You literally know nothing about him. Whatever damage he's done to your body politic remains unknown for now.

Welcome to the morning after, America. Because yes. That just happened. We kind of sort of lost our minds for a year. We ceded control of our public space to a demagogue. The Republican Party was overrun, and occupied. Even though most Americans didn't vote for him, and a majority probably never supported him, he nevertheless defined our political cycle -- for the worse. We should forgive (ourselves), but never forget.

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If anyone needs to apologize, it's America. To itself, sure. But to our Constitution, too, and to our history, to our veterans, to our minorities, to our heroes, to our Gold Star families, to our fellow citizens whom Trump maligned and mocked, to an electorate that deserves better, to everyday Americans whose grievances were hijacked, to the nations who pledged to defend us in the event of any aggression against us, and were told to buzz off, to longstanding allies and partners who were dumped on.